During the late nineteen seventies and early eighties, computer technology revolutionized many manufacturing industries. In labor-intensive industries such as the automotive industry, computer-controlled equipment replaced people on the production lines. Such computercontrolled equipment performed complex manufacturing tasks quicker, cheaper and with greater precision than their human counterparts; therefore, manufacturers who modernized their factories reaped the benefits of substantially lower production cost. In the past, computer-controlled equipment has been especially advantageous to industries, such as the steel and automotive industries, which involve complex manufacturing tasks.
More recently, computer-controlled equipment has entered into some of the less complex stages of manufacturing, such as sorting packages An installation adapted to automatically sort packages can significantly reduce economic losses attributed to human error. To be feasible, however, the technology must be cost effective
Sorting operations currently utilize complex robotic arms that transfer packages from their storage bins onto conveyor belts The process of individually sorting packages is slow and inefficient. The robots are expensive; they also require unique hardware and software which adds to the cost of the operation. In the event of mechanical failure, repair time is lengthy, resulting in a substantial economic loss to the company. Furthermore, expansion of the sorting operation is a formadable task; the difficulty lies with coordinating the operation of the robots. After balancing the savings attained by eliminating human error against the expenses attributed to these complex robots, the large initial outlay for modernization is not economically feasible.